The Days Sales Overdue figure in the Analysis window is calculated using the 'count back' method. The principle of this method is to start with your total overdue debtors figure, then deduct the latest month's sales balance, then the month before that, until you have used the whole of your overdue debtors figure.

For example, ABC Company are analysing their Days Sales Overdue for CUST001 as at 30th September:

• There were no sales in September and August.
• Sales in July of 66.29 reduce the outstanding overdue debt to 15,280.06.
• A credit sales balance in June increased the outstanding overdue debt to 15,322.06.
• Sales in May of 1,028.13 reduce the outstanding overdue debt to 14,293.93.
• Sales in April of 2,533.31 reduce the outstanding overdue debt to 11,760.62.
• Sales in March were 13,094.42. This absorbs the outstanding overdue debt at the end of April of 11,760.62 with a remainder of 1,333.80.

To calculate Days Sales Overdue, please follow the steps below:

1. Take the outstanding overdue debt at the end of April - £11760.62, divided by the sales figure for March - £13094.42. Multiply this figure by one hundred to give a figure of 89.81%.
2. Take the number of days in March - 31, divided by one hundred. Multiply this figure by 89.81 to give a figure of 27.84.
3. 27.84 is then rounded up to 28 days giving a final DSO figure of 211 days.

NOTE: To obtain sales figures for the monthly periods, open the Customer Record and click the Sales tab.

Running the Year End option clears the sales monthly buckets, making DSO calculations over more than 12 months harder to calculate.
Running the Clear Audit Trail option within the current period distorts the DSO figures as the calculation is transaction based. If you have run the Clear Audit Trail option, when reconciling, you should use the monthly day books, rather than the sales bucket values.

[BCB:19:UK - Sales message :ECB]